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Passenger Hits 2 Billion YouTube Views For "Let Her Go"

Aug 30, 2018

The video for Passenger’s international hit single “Let Her Go” has this week surpassed two billion views on YouTube, joining a very exclusive club which includes Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You,” Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” ft Bruno Mars, and Adele’s “Hello.”

Originally recorded in 2012, the single reached No.1 in 19 countries, with the accompanying album All The Little Lights achieving platinum or multi-platinum status in 11 countries. Passenger, aka Brighton’s Mike Rosenberg, is a streaming phenomenon who has also had well in excess of a billion streams on Spotify.

“Well now…this is completely ridiculous,” Passenger said of the news. “I don’t really know how to compute this information anymore…This song just keeps on going and going and is without doubt one of the most magical and bizarre things to have ever happened to me. Crazy that it happened to reach this milestone on the week of my 10th album being released too!”

Eduard Castelló, YouTube Music Content Partnerships Manager, UK and Ireland, commented on the achievement: "We're delighted to see Passenger hit such a remarkable milestone ahead of his new studio album release this week. Mike has developed such a deep and meaningful relationship with his fans on YouTube by adopting an always-on approach. He provides access to not only most-watched music videos, but also live versions, visualizers, and behind-the-scenes clips which allow fans to connect directly to him and feel a part of his journey. We look forward to seeing what comes next."

Combined streams for advance tracks from his new album Runaway - released tomorrow on Nettwerk Records - have already exceeded 25 million plays. Lead single “Hell or High Water” has been steadily climbing the Triple A Top 30 Chart at #14 this week, and the official video has over 10 Million YT views. Mike recently performed the single on Live with Kelly and Ryan; watch it HERE.

Last night, Passenger embarked on an extensive world tour in support of Runaway with a sold-out show at Edinburgh Queens Hall. The UK leg culminates next weekend with sold-out shows at London’s Roundhouse on September 8th and Brighton’s Dome on September 9th, which promises to be a very special hometown show for Rosenberg. The North American leg begins on October 13th in Nashville, TN and wraps November 6th in Los Angeles, CA. All dates are listed below.

Passenger’s 2016 album, Young As The Morning Old As The Sea entered the UK charts at No.1, ahead of Bruce Springsteen, and the subsequent tour saw Rosenberg play his largest headline tour to date with a total audience of over 1.4 million across 29 countries, including playing to over 13,500 people at Amsterdam’s ZiggoDome.

Runaway, Rosenberg’s tenth album in 11 years, was recorded between the UK and Australia with his co-producer, Chris Vallejo, but its aesthetic is North American. Sonically, too, Runaway draws on Americana more so than past Passenger albums -- some lap steel, some mandolin, a little banjo. Rosenberg imagined these new songs unfolding against a backdrop of American landscapes. And so, rather than the usual video process, he and director Jarrad Seng spent a three weeks on a road trip across the US making videos for every song on the album. Five of these videos are already available to view: “Heart To Love,” filmed on Las Vegas’ famous Strip; “Hell Or High Water,” set in the epic landscapes of a series of National Parks; the sublime “Why I Can't Change,” seeped in influences such as the Traveling Wilburys and early Fleetwood Mac; and album title track “Runaway,” which features Rosenberg running through spectacular locations, including Death Valley and Monument Valley, Lombard Street in San Francisco, and New York’s High Line.

Passenger also recently revealed a beautiful video for the haunting track for “To Be Free,” shot on the beach in Avalon, New Jersey, and starring New York City Ballet’s Emily Kikta.

Runaway is released on CD, Vinyl LP and download, with Deluxe 2CD, 2LP and Deluxe Digital formats available that include the Live Acoustic versions of the album that were recorded across North America. Pre-order links are HERE.

Track listing:

1 Hell Or High Water

2 Why Can’t I Change

3 Heart To Love

4 Let’s Go

5 Eagle Bear Buffalo

6 Ghost Town

7 Runaway

8 He Leaves You Cold

9 To Be Free

10 Survivors

Deluxe formats include original album plus bonus disc/tracks:

1 Survivors - Live from Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, OR

2 To Be Free - Live from Dauphin Rd, Vineland, NJ

3 Eagle Bear Buffalo - Live from Canaan Mountain Wilderness Area, UT

4 Runaway - Live from Joshua Tree National Park, CA

5 Ghost Town - Live from Michigan Theatre, Detroit, MI

6 He Leaves You Cold - Live from Unityville, PA

7 Let's Go - Live from Trough Rd State Bridge, CO

8 Heart To Love - Live from a rooftop in Manhattan, NY

9 Why Can't I Change - Live from Tahkenitch Landing Campground, Gardiner, OR